Overcoming Webscraping Barriers with Browser Macros

The secret to developing webbots that harvest data from difficult websites is to emulate exactly the functionality and behavior of browsers. And from the webbot developer’s perspective, the easiest way to emulate a browser is to control a browser directly through the use of a browser macro.

What Is a Browser Macro?

A browser macro is a program or plug-in that uses a script to control the actions of a browser. The advantage of using a browser macro is that it can leverage the browser’s rendering engines for JavaScript and Flash as well as any other plug-ins or extensions available to the browser. The ability to programmatically control a browser vastly improves your ability to scrape or automate ...

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